Dry wall trim

ABSTRACT

An improved trim for building installations wherein an opening for a sliding or bi-fold door assembly is provided with at least one side of the opening formed by the transverse butting of a first dry wall panel to a second dry wall panel. The trim includes a first trim member secured to one of the dry wall panels. The trim member has a first portion extending along and covering the seam formed by the two panels and a second portion extending into the opening.

[ Jan. 21, 1975 United States Patent [191 Schwindt DRY WALL TRIM [76]Inventor: Benjamin W. Schwindt, 40 Awixa Primary Examiner-Philip C.Kannan Ave., Bay Shore, Suffolk County, N.Y. 11706 Feb. 7, 1974 Appl.No.: 440,594

Attorney, Agent, or FirmKane, Dalsimer, Kane, Sullivan and Kurucz [22]Filed:

[57] ABSTRACT An improved trim for building installations wherein anopening for a sliding or bi-fold door assembly is provided with at leastone side of the opening formed by the transverse butting of a first drywall panel to a sec ond dry wall panel. The trim includes a first trim 31% Q52 ml 3 1 .1. 8 8 9 n 2 J m 6m 0 an H mm m M 1" mmh u .r na 1 f C im Mk UIF 1. 2 00 555 [ll member secured to one of the dry wall panels.The trim member has a first portion extending along and covering theseam formed by the two panels and a second portion extending into theopening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Protzman.... 160/206 X 160/206 5Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1/1971 Brinker...........,.... 8/1973Wo0dward.,........................

PATENTED JAN 21 I975 SHEET 10F 2 Fl-l-llll Illl'll Q 1 a My DRY WALLTRIM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to animproved trim for use in dry wall construction and more particularly fora trim designed to cover the edge formed by the butting of twotransverse panels to define one side of an opening to receive a slidingor bi-fold door assembly.

Dry wall or gypsum wallboard is extensively used in the constructiontrade for the finishing of interior walls. The present method of joiningwallboard at outside corners requires the use of a corner bead. Thecorner bead comprises a metallic (or plastic) strip which is nailed orfastened along both sides to the two panels forming the outside corner.The bead must then be hand filled with plaster or joining compound toconceal the bead and make the surface of the wall appear even.

The above described construction has heretofore been generally followedat all outside corners including those defining the opening to a closetor doorway which is to be covered by a sliding or bi-fold door assembly.In such cases, when the door is in the closed position it should coverthe entire opening. To this end, it is conventional to provide anadjustable channel trim at each door edge to compensate for anydimensional inaccuracies in the door assembly or the doorway. However,even with the adjustable channels, the door assembly oftentimes stilldoes not entirely close the door opening and the channel just serves toaccentuate the imperfections of the adjacent wall construction causingthe slight openings. In some instances, the adjustable channels areomitted and a door stop is provided to the jambs. This type ofconstruction is somewhat unsightly and usually does not solve theproblem of gaps in the door opening.

In view of the above, it is the principal object of the presentinvention to provide an improved trim for dry wall construction whichgives the appearance of a complete door buck for a sliding or bi-folddoor assembly while, at the same time, covering any wallboard defectsand overcoming the above described problems encountered with the priorart assembly methods.

A further object is to provide such a trim which is considerably easierand less costly to install as compared to existing trim assemblies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other beneficial objects andadvantages are attained in building installations of the type having incombination a first dry wall panel; a second dry wall panel disposedtransverse to and abutting the first panel at a seam; and a wall memberspaced apart from the seam and cooperating with one of the dry wallpanels in defining an opening to receive a sliding or bifold doorassembly. In accordance with the present invention, a first trim memberis secured to one of the panels. The first trim member has a firstportion extending along and covering the seam and a second portionintegral with and coextensive with the first portion extending into theopening.

The trim member first portion includes a plurality of elongated slotsformed therein and extending transverse to the second portion. Screws orother fasteners extend through the slots to secure the trim member tothe one panel with the slots enabling adjustments to be made as requiredto overcome any defects in the wallboard construction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building installation utilizing a trimin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a door opening provided with abi-fold door assembly and utilizing a trim in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along reference lines 3--3 of FIG. 2 inthe direction indicated by the arrows showing the door in a closedposition; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the doors in an openposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference is now madeto the drawings wherein similar components bear the same referencenumerals throughout the several views. Reference is first made to FIG. 1wherein the trim 10 of the present invention is shown at the outsidecorner 12 formed by the generally perpendicular intersection of a firstdry wall panel 14 and a second dry wall panel 16. As shown in FIG. 2,the outside corner 12 defines one side of a doorway opening generallydesignated by the member 18. The other side of the opening may comprisea similar outside corner or may comprise a straight section of wallpanel 22 as shown in the drawings. A bi-fold door assembly 20 isprovided to close the doorway opening.

The doorway opening extends from the floor 24 to a valance 26 extendingacross the opening. A track 28 is mounted behind the valance. The trackreceives a roller 30 which, in turn, is mounted to door panel 32 of thedoor assembly. A second panel 34 is secured to the first panel by hinges36 in a conventional manner.

In accordance with the present invention, trim 10 comprises an elongatedmember extending from the floor to the ceiling. The member includes afirst portion 38 extending across the side edge of panel 14 as well as apart of the exposed surface of panel 16 concealing the seam defined atthe line where panel 16 abuts panel 14. The trim is secured to panel 16by a plurality of screws 40, each one of which passes through a slottedopening 42 in member 38. The openings 42 are disposed generallytransverse to panel 14 thereby permitting the trim 10 to be adjustedtransversely as may be required.

Trim member 10 further comprises a second portion 44 formed integralwith the first portion and extending partly into the doorway opening. Asshown, the second portion 44 is disposed perpendicular to the firstportion and includes parts 46 which extend over sheet rock panel 14. Inaccordance with conventional construction techniques, a base molding 48may be provided at the bottom of wall 14 to abut the second portion ofthe trim member as shown.

The bi-fold door 20, shown in FIG. 2, requires a pivot plate 50 topivotally support the door assembly. The pivot plate comprises an L"shaped bracket having a vertical portion 52 secured at the bottom of thefirst portion of the trim 38 by spot welding or the like and ahorizontal portion 54 formed integral with the vertical portion. Thehorizontal portion may be secured directly to the floor or to a doorsaddle by means of screw 56. The horizontal portion 54 includes a pivotmember 58 comprising a rectangular plate having a hole 60 thereinadapted to receive one end of a pin 62, the other end of whichcooperates with means on the door to pivotally secure the door. Asimilar pivot plate arrangement is provided at the top of the door.

The side of the doorway opening opposite corner 12 may comprise asimilar outside corner in which case a trim member identical with membercould be used. There would, of course, be no need for the pivot plateson that side of the opening. Alternately, the other side of the openingmay comprise a straight surface as shown in the drawings. In this case,a second trim member 64 is provided. Member 64 has a first portion 66adapted to be secured to the wall member 22 by a plurality of screws 68or the like. Trim member 64 further includes a second portion 70 formedintegral with the first portion and extending into the opening towardthe other side of the opening. As before, base molding 48 may beprovided to give the installation a neat overall appearance.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, it should be noted that in accordance withthe present invention, any defects in the joining of the dry wallsections 14 and 16 to form the outside corner 12 are covered from viewby the first portion 38 of trim member 10. In addition, since the seamformed by the transverse abutting of dry wall panels 14 and 16 is hiddenand protected by member 10, the conventional corner bead is notrequired. It should further be noted that when the door 20 is closed, asshown in FIG. 3, any defects in the hanging of the door are blocked fromview by the combined operation of the second portions 44 and 70 of trimmembers 10 and 64 respectively. Similarly, when the doors are in theopen position, as shown in FIG. 4, the trim members provide a neat,finished appearance to the opening. Channel trim 72 covers the dooredges.

The trim members of the present invention may be formed of metal orplastic. If desired, the trim may be surface treated so as to acquiregood paint retaining characteristics thereby enabling the trim to beneatly painted along with the adjoining wallboard panels. In all cases,the outside joint forming a part of the opening is effectively coveredby the trim so that any need for the prior art corner bead along withthe associated spackling or filling is eliminated. Further, the presenttrim provides an opening having a neat, well finished appearance andautomatically compensates for any defects in the adjacent wallboard orin the associated door assembly.

Thus, in accordance with the above, the aforementioned objectives areeffectively attained.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. In a buildinginstallation of the type having in combination: a first dry wall panel;a second dry wall panel disposed transverse to and generally abuttingsaid first panel at a seam; a wall member spaced apart from said seamand cooperating with one of said dry wall panels in defining an opening;roller guide means spanning the top of said opening; door means disposedin said opening, said door means including roller means engaged by saidguide; the improvement comprising a first trim member secured to one ofsaid panels having a first portion extending along and covering saidseam and a second portion extending into said opening and a second trimmember secured to said wall member, said second trim member including afirst portion secured to said wall member and a second portion extendinginto said opening.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first trimmember first and second portions are disposed transverse to one anotherand are formed integral with and coextensive with each other.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first trimmember second portion includes parts thereof extending over and coveringparts of said second dry wall panel.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first trimmember first portion includes a plurality of elongated slots formedtherein transverse to said second portion and further comprising meansfor securing said trim to said one panel, said aforementioned meansincluding fastening means passing through said slots.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a pivotplate comprising an L shaped bracket having a vertical portion securedto said first trim member first portion spaced apart from said trimmember second portion, a horizontal portion extending into said openingfrom the bottom of said vertical portion and a pivot member secured tosaid horizontal portion and adapted to cooperate with associated memberson said door means to pivotally support said door. =l=

1. In a building installation of the type having in combination: a first dry wall panel; a second dry wall panel disposed transverse to and generally abutting said first panel at a seam; a wall member spaced apart from said seam and cooperating with one of said dry wall panels in defining an opening; roller guide means spanning the top of said opening; door means disposed in said opening, said door means including roller means engaged by said guide; the improvement comprising a first trim member secured to one of said panels having a first portion extending along and covering said seam and a second portion extending into said opening and a second trim member secured to said wall member, said second trim member including a first portion secured to said wall member and a second portion extending into said opening.
 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first trim member first and second portions are disposed transverse to one another and are formed integral with and coextensive with each other.
 3. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first trim member second portion includes parts thereof extending over and covering parts of said second dry wall panel.
 4. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first trim member first portion includes a plurality of elongated slots formed therein transverse to said second portion and further comprising means for securing said trim to said one panel, said aforementioned means including fastening means passing through said slots.
 5. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a pivot plate comprising an ''''L'''' shaped bracket having a vertical portion secured to said first trim member first portion spaced apart from said tRim member second portion, a horizontal portion extending into said opening from the bottom of said vertical portion and a pivot member secured to said horizontal portion and adapted to cooperate with associated members on said door means to pivotally support said door. 